[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 10, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2556-S2558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BIDEN:
  S. 2189. A bill to establish grants to improve and study the National 
Domestic Violence Hotline; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

[[Page S2557]]

                                S. 2189

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Domestic Violence 
     Connections Campaign Act of 2004''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) More than 500 men and women call the National Domestic 
     Violence Hotline every day to get immediate, informed, and 
     confidential assistance to help deal with family violence.
       (2) The National Domestic Violence Hotline service is 
     available, toll-free, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, with 
     bilingual staff, access to translators in 150 languages, and 
     a TTY line for the hearing-impaired.
       (3) With access to over 5,000 shelters and service 
     providers across the United States, Puerto Rico, Alaska, 
     Hawaii, and the United States Virgin Islands, the National 
     Domestic Violence Hotline provides crisis intervention and 
     immediately connects callers with sources of help in their 
     local community.
       (4) The National Domestic Violence Hotline, which was 
     created by the Violence Against Women Act and is located in 
     Austin, Texas, answered its first call on February 21, 1996, 
     and answered its one millionth call on August 4, 2003.
       (5) Approximately 60 percent of the callers indicate that 
     calling the Hotline is their first attempt to address a 
     domestic violence situation and that they have not called the 
     police or any other support services.
       (6) Between 2000 and 2003, there was a 27 percent increase 
     in call volume.
       (7) Due to high call volume and limited resources, 
     approximately 26,000 calls to the Hotline went unanswered in 
     2002 due to long hold times or busy signals.
       (8) Widespread demand for the Hotline service continues. 
     The Department of Justice reported that over 18,000 acts of 
     violence were committed by intimate partners in the United 
     States each day during 2001. An average of 3 women are 
     murdered every day in this Country by their husbands or 
     boyfriends.
       (9) Working with outdated telephone and computer equipment 
     creates many challenges for the National Domestic Violence 
     Hotline.
       (10) Improving technology infrastructure at the National 
     Domestic Violence Hotline and training advocates, volunteers, 
     and other staff on upgraded technology will drastically 
     increase the Hotline's ability to answer more calls quickly 
     and effectively.
       (11) Partnerships between the public sector and the private 
     sector are an effective way of providing necessary technology 
     improvements to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
       (12) The Connections Campaign is a project that unites 
     nonprofit organizations, major corporations, and Federal 
     agencies to launch a major new initiative to help ensure that 
     the National Domestic Violence Hotline can answer every call 
     with upgraded, proficient, and sophisticated technology 
     tools.

     SEC. 3. TECHNOLOGY GRANT TO NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
                   HOTLINE.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
     the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award a 
     grant to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
       (b) Use of Funds.--The grant awarded under subsection (a) 
     shall be used to provide technology and telecommunication 
     training and assistance for advocates, volunteers, staff, and 
     others affiliated with the Hotline so that such persons are 
     able to effectively use improved equipment made available 
     through the Connections Campaign.

     SEC. 4. RESEARCH GRANT TO STUDY NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
                   HOTLINE.

       (a) Grant Authorized.--Not later than 6 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, shall award a 
     grant to a university or other research institution with 
     demonstrated experience and expertise with domestic violence 
     issues to conduct a study of the National Domestic Violence 
     Hotline for the purpose of conducting the research described 
     under subsection (c), and for the input, interpretation, and 
     dissemination of research data.
       (b) Application.--Each university or research institution 
     desiring to receive a grant under this section shall submit 
     an application to the Attorney General, at such time, in such 
     manner, and accompanied by such additional information as the 
     Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services and the National Domestic Violence 
     Hotline, may reasonably require.
       (c) Issues to be Studied.--The study described in 
     subsection (a) shall--
       (1) compile statistical and substantive information about 
     calls received by the Hotline since its inception, or a 
     representative sample of such calls, while maintaining the 
     confidentiality of Hotline callers;
       (2) interpret the data compiled under paragraph (1)--
       (A) to determine the trends, gaps in services, and 
     geographical areas of need; and
       (B) to assess the trends and gaps in services to 
     underserved communities and the military community; and
       (3) gather other important information about domestic 
     violence.
       (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the grantee conducting the study under 
     this section shall submit a report on the results of such 
     study to Congress and the Attorney General.

     SEC. 5. GRANT TO RAISE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 
                   ISSUES.

       (a) Grant Authorized.--Not later than 6 months after the 
     submission of the report required under section 4(d), the 
     Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services and the National Domestic Violence 
     Hotline, shall award a grant to an experienced organization 
     to conduct a public awareness campaign to increase the 
     public's understanding of domestic violence issues and 
     awareness of the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
       (b) Application.--Each organization desiring to receive a 
     grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
     Attorney General, at such time, in such manner, and 
     accompanied by such additional information as the Attorney 
     General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 
     Human Services and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 
     may reasonably require.

     SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated, 
     for each of the fiscal years 2005 and 2006--
       (1) $500,000 to carry out section 3;
       (2) $250,000 to carry out section 4; and
       (3) $800,000 to carry out section 5.
       (b) Availability.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
     authority of subsection (a) shall remain available until 
     expended.
       (c) Nonexclusivity.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     construed to limit or restrict the National Domestic Violence 
     Hotline to apply for and obtain Federal funding from any 
     other agency or department or any other Federal grant 
     program.
       (d) No Condition on Appropriations.--Amounts appropriated 
     pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be considered amounts 
     appropriated for purposes of the conditions imposed under 
     section 316(g)(2) of the Family Violence Prevention and 
     Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10416(g)(2)).

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I want to relay a telephone number, a 
number that may not sound familiar but you can be sure is memorized by 
thousands of women across the country. 1-800-799-SAFE--the number for 
the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Each month, over 16,000 women 
and men call the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Open twenty-four 
hours a day, seven days a week, with a bilingual staff and a TTY-line 
for the hearing impaired, the National Domestic Violence Hotline 
provides immediate, informed and confidential assistance to those 
caught in family violence. Oftentimes, it is the first call a battered 
woman makes, even before calling the police or a friend.
  The Hotline is located in Austin, TX, but answers telephone calls 
placed anywhere in the United States and the U.S. territories. A 
distressed caller is connected to a trained advocate who is able to 
provide crisis intervention counseling, help create a safety plan, 
directly connect the caller with a local shelter or provide a range of 
local referral information. Using a massive database listing more than 
5,000 services nationally, one of 30 full or part-time advocates puts a 
caller in touch immediately with local programs offering shelter and 
direct care.
  I want to share with my colleagues two real-life stories from women 
who have called the Hotline. One caller dialed the Hotline after her 
boyfriend pulled a gun and threatened to kill her if she left him. 
Fearing for her life, she fled with her two young children. They ran to 
a nearby strip mall where she called the Hotline. As she told a Hotline 
advocate her story, she watched her abuser search for her in every 
store in the mall. Once a local shelter was contacted, arrangements 
were made to rescue the woman and her children from their hiding spot 
in a back alley behind the restaurant.
  An immigrant woman who spoke no English called from a community 
clinic. She had learned that for the past year her abusive husband had 
been raping their 15-year-old daughter. Her husband had no idea she was 
calling the Hotline. He had kept her so isolated on the ranch where 
they lived that she didn't even know her address. While the woman 
stayed on the line, an advocate contacted the sheriff's office and 
together they pieced together enough information to figure out her 
address. The sheriff made plans to confirm the child abuse at the 
daughter's school, after which the husband would be arrested 
immediately. After completing the exchange with the sheriff's office, 
the advocate contacted the nearest shelter and arranged to pick up the 
woman and her daughter at the clinic.
  These are real women who we see every day at work, at the grocery 
store

[[Page S2558]]

and at the school parking lot whose lives have been dramatically 
changed, in part, by that first call to the National Domestic Violence 
Hotline. Created by the Violence Against Women Act, the Hotline 
answered its first call on February 21, 1996, and its one millionth 
call on August 4, 2003. In the past decade we've witnessed a sea of 
change in how Americans view domestic violence. It is no longer treated 
as a private, family matter, but as a public crime. As public awareness 
has grown--as the Hotline's telephone number is posted on bus 
billboards and websites, in school offices and doctor's waiting rooms--
there has been a dramatic increase in calls. Between 2000 and 2001 
alone, call volume increased by 18.5 percent. In 2002, the Hotline 
answered almost 180,000 calls, an increase of 7.5 percent from the 
previous year. The Department of Defense recently requested that the 
Hotline accept calls from military personnel--a move that will 
certainly increase the call volume substantially.

  While the majority of the Hotline's day-to-day operating costs are 
paid with Federal dollars designated in annual spending bills, funding 
has not kept pace with the growing call volume and the Hotline's 
technology and telecommunication needs. This year, the spending bill 
appropriated only three million dollars to the Hotline. Older 
equipment, coupled with increased usage, has set the Hotline up to 
experience frequent problems with the network, data corruption and the 
lurking threat of a crash in the entire system. The Hotline tries to 
answer almost 500 calls a day with old computers and servers. Because 
the system is outdated and the staff is stretched thin, over 26,000 
calls last year went unanswered due to long hold times or busy signals.
  We need to answer each and every one of the calls to the Hotline. 
Today I am launching an innovative and far-reaching solution to the 
Hotline's problems, the Connections Campaign. The Connections Campaign 
is a public/private partnership that teams up private telecommunication 
and technology companies with the Federal Government to solve the 
Hotline's crisis. Under the Connections Campaign, the same companies--
Microsoft, Sony, BellSouth, Verizon Wireless, IBM, Nortel Networks, 
Dell and others--that supply Americans with home computers, cell phones 
and telephone service are donating hardware and software to the 
Hotline. Items like mapping software, networked computers, servers, 
flat-screened monitors and telephone airtime are being pledged to the 
Hotline. This is just the beginning of a multi-year, multi-million 
dollar initiative to place the Hotline squarely in the twenty-first 
century.
  On the public side of the partnership, I am proud to introduce the 
Domestic Violence Connections Campaign Act of 2004 which will provide a 
million dollars to train and assist the Hotline's advocates so that 
they may effectively use the improved equipment provided by the 
Connections Campaign. In addition, the Act creates a new research grant 
program to be administered by the Attorney General that will review and 
analyze data generated by the Hotline. Taking into consideration needs 
for caller confidentiality and security, researchers will study Hotline 
data to determine the trends, potential gaps in service and 
geographical areas of need. Within three years of enactment, 
researchers will release a comprehensive Hotline study to Congress and 
the Attorney General. Finally, my bill provides an $800,000 grant 
program for the Hotline to increase public awareness about domestic 
violence and the Hotline's services.
  One hand clapping simply does not make enough noise. Federal, State 
and local government cannot always supply all the answers and resources 
to resolve our communities' pressing problems. Today's Connections 
Campaign recognizes that big problems warrant grand, collaborative 
solutions. Cooperation between the Federal Government and the private 
sector is critical to enhance the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

  A cornerstone of the Violence Against Women Act was my conviction 
that ending domestic violence and sexual assault required a 
coordinated, community response. We worked hard to ensure that 
emergency room personnel, police officers, victim advocates, shelter 
directors and court clerks worked together to implement the many 
mandates of the Violence Against Women Act. The Connections Campaign is 
Act Two. We are now asking that the corporate community get actively 
involved to strengthen a key safety net for women and their families, 
the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
  Today's legislation and the kick-off is just the beginning of what I 
envision to be a lasting connection between the Hotline and the 
technology and telecommunications community. I look forward to coming 
back to the Senate floor to inform my colleagues about the new 
computers, wireless headsets, upgraded software and other technology 
that could be provided to the Hotline through the Connections Campaign. 
In the meantime, let me close by commending and expressing my gratitude 
to Sheryl Cates, the director of the Hotline and her dedicated staff 
who are providing the first step to safe, new lives for millions of 
battered women. They are truly doing God's work.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
                                 ______